Dr Praveen P Bagewadi, Managing Director, Belagavi Smart City, elaborates on the progress of projects in the first-round city. Pace of progress To begin with, we had to take the opinions and feedback of citizens. The initial years were tough but we have caught up with the policy and programmes of the Government. We are now in the finishing stage. We had taken up 103 projects of which 53 are completed, most of which are replicable in other cities. Impact of the pandemic The pandemic did impact the city. Somehow, we were able to continue some projects and we caught up later. Now, we are on the verge of completing all of them. Upcoming tenders and projects We have tendered all our projects. The upcoming projects are under the PPP model, which are multi-utility and multi-parking centres. Other projects that I consider important are the digital library and cognitive learning for the kid's zone. Dream project I would like to mention the park taken up by Belagavi for physically disabled people. It is a therapy park for all. Biggest achievement and challenge in the Smart Cities Mission At this stage, 100 cities have taken up the work. In the future, the work by these cities will be replicated by other cities. It will help the country to move ahead.